Light in the Dark
by Zaratan
Summary: Ron and Bonnie get stuck during a blackout, and have to make do. Not part of the Bonnie's Curse series, done as a challenge at RS dot net.


I don't own KP, Disney does. If I did, we'd have box sets already. Just a little tale I threw together for the RS dot net contest this month. Not part of the Bonnie's Curse universe.

I'd also like to ask everyone to keep CaptainKodak and his family in their thoughts and prayers. He'll be going in for quadruple bypass surgery on Friday, and we're all hopeful for a speedy recovery.

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Light in the Dark

Ron pulled his coat tighter against him as he made his way over to the bank. Winter had hit with a vengeance quickly, and he could barely make out the light from the window through the blowing snow. In just an hour, the snow was already piling up, and it didn't show any signs of stopping right away. He lamented briefly waiting this long to go pick up Christmas presents, but with school winding down for the holidays, and that last mission to stop Drakken and his army of mechanized poodles, for which he still wasn't sure just how that plan was supposed to help him achieve world domination, he hadn't had the time before now. Now, a few days before, and here he was trudging through a blizzard to get to the bank so he could get to the stores and by KP and the Possible clan gifts for Christmas.

As he crossed the street, his foot sank into a hidden puddle of slush, and he yelled in surprise as the cold water enveloped his foot before he could pull it free. For the fourth time, he wished his parents had lent him the car, so he could do this quicker and much warmer. Of course, only a few flakes had been falling then, and it wasn't nearly as cold. Getting his own car would have been preferable though, but his folks wouldn't even let him pull enough from his remaining naco royalties, which his parents had secured for him ahead of time to prevent another fiasco like last time, to do that. He and Kim had to be the only seniors that didn't have their own car, or at least it seemed that way.

He finally reached the door to the bank, and he swiped his bankcard to get in, having to take several attempts with his hands shaking as they were. He pulled on the door quickly, almost throwing himself through to get out of the weather. He pulled the door shut behind him, shaking himself to divest himself of the snow that covered him completely. He was glad he had left Rufus at home, the little guy would have been as blue as Drakken in this weather.

"What are you doing here?"

Ron paused in his shaking, glancing up in surprise as he recognized the voice. He was a little surprised, but considering how his night was going so far, not that much. "Hey BonBon, I take it you aren't done your Christmas shopping either?"

Bonnie just sneered back, turning quickly to the ATM machine. "Not that it's any of your business, but no I'm not. I take it you're not either? Planning on getting Kim more Beuno Nacho bucks again? I hear she loved those last time."

Ron just ignored the sarcasm in her tone, leaning up against the wall behind her. "Naww, I thought it might be best if I got her something better this year, now that we're going out. I have no idea what yet, but I'm sure I'll find something."

Bonnie just chuckled softly. "I wish I knew what was so special that Kim would waste all this time on you to ruin her own standing. Course, that just makes it easier on me to be number one, with her throwing it all away on a loser like you."

Ron just gasped, bringing his hand to his chest in mock pain. "BonBon, that hurts!"

Bonnie just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least I won't have to deal with you a moment longer. I just have to grab my money, and I'll be…"

The lights suddenly cut off, bathing the entire bank in darkness, and Bonnie screamed.

Ron rushed over to where he last saw her, trying to find her in the dark. He had managed to suppress his own shriek of terror, but he had to make sure Bonnie was all right. "Bonnie, it's all right, it's just a blackout. Nothing to be scared of."

He found her arm, but she jerked it away quickly. "I'm not scared you loser, the stupid machine still has my bankcard!"

Ron just groaned, and he reached for his Kimmunicator. Kim had given it to him during the summer, and now he was very glad he had it. He pushed the button, and the screen lit up, bathing the room in a gentle glow. "Hey Wade, what's the sitch?"

He saw Wade sticking his head up and back in front of the screen. "Hey Ron. Looks like we've got a transformer out thanks to the weather. Fortunately, my backup generator kicked in quickly." Wade frowned briefly, as he took in the scene behind Ron. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the bank, I was going to do some Christmas shopping. Do you know how long it will take to get power back?"

Wade worked on the computer in front of him for a moment. "It looks like it will be a couple hours. Ron… which bank are you at?"

"First Middleton, why?"

"Have you tried to get out yet?"

Ron stared at the screen a moment longer, before turning to the doors. He gave them a push, but they wouldn't budge. He threw all his weight at them, but it was no good.

"I was afraid of that. The banks doors lock down automatically when the power goes out."

Bonnie grabbed Ron's hand to look at the Kimmunicator. "I can't be stuck in here, not with him! You have to get us out of here!"

Wade glanced between the two he could see on his screen. "Ron, is that…"

Ron sighed, smiling lightly. "Yeah, that's Bonnie. Anything you can do to get us out of here?"

Wade worked a moment more, but there was no smile on his face. "Sorry Ron, without power, I can't get the doors open. Plus, there's no one who can come get you, emergency personnel are dealing with accidents all over, and they can't spare anyone for a minor problem."

Bonnie ripped the Kimmunicator right from Ron's hand, glaring at the screen. "MINOR? We're trapped in here!"

Ron placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "We'll be fine Wade, we'll ride it out here. Keep us updated if anything changes." Ron grabbed the Kimmunicator back, and Wade signed off, though Ron did leave the light on the screen so that they could see.

Bonnie just glared back at him. "You mean to tell me I'm going to be stuck in here for two hours… with you?"

Ron just grinned. "Oh come on BonBon, it will be fine. Maybe we might even have fun!"

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Ron stared across the lobby at Bonnie, where they had been sitting for the last half hour. The Kimmunicator sat in the middle of the room between them, the light emanating from it steady. The temperature was quickly dropping without any heat from the vents, and he had his legs held close to retain heat. "Yeah, real fun," he mumbled.

Ron stretched his legs a bit, and earned a glare from Bonnie. "You j-j-just stay r-r-right on your side."

Ron paused, looking closer at Bonnie. She seemed to be shivering. "Bonnie, are you all right?"

"I'm j-j-just fine, thank you v-very much!"

Ron stood up, moving closer. "You're not all right, you're freezing!"

Bonnie just turned her eyes away, looking at the floor instead. "I'm fine!"

"You are not fine." Ron unzipped his coat, lowering himself to sit beside her and tried to wrap her in his much larger coat while keeping himself in it as well. She just pulled away. "Come on Bonnie, you're cold, and it's just you and me here. No one here to see you sitting with the loser. Besides, if we're here for another hour, you'll be a popsicle."

Bonnie turned to glare at him, but slid one arm into the vacated coat arm, sidling closer to Ron. Ron pulled her tighter with his free arm, and Bonnie winced. "You will NEVER tell anyone about this, you hear me?"

They wrapped the coat tighter about them, a small gap allowing some cold air in, but the two just squeezed closer, and Bonnie took a breath as she felt herself starting to warm up.

Ron was noticing Bonnie's jacket for the first time, now that he was close enough to feel the material. "Geez, this coat is pretty light for winter, isn't it?"

"It's the latest fashion, not that you'd know that."

"I'm just saying…"

"Can we not talk… please?"

Ron looked down at Bonnie, her arms wrapped tightly around him, and smiled. Just a year ago, this situation would have been a dream come true, holding tight to the beautiful brunette. Of course, that was before he realized how he felt about Kim. Now, he just found it amusing. "Sure thing BonBon."

"And stop calling me BonBon!"

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Ron was bored out of his mind. The Kimmunicator still sat in the middle of the room, and he really wanted to find out how much longer they'd be stuck there. But Bonnie seemed to be dozing against him, at least if her even breathing was to be believed, though he had been expecting some of the snores that Kim had mentioned when they had been forced to room together on occasion, and he didn't want to disturb her. He stuck out his leg, hoping he could reach it to pull it closer. When the first attempt failed, he stretched out further, trying vainly to pull it closer.

"Ron."

Ron sat back up quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't touch anything did I? I was just trying to reach the Kimmunicator, and…"

"Eww, no!" Bonnie shifted slightly, turning her head to look up at him a bit. "Ron… why are you doing this?"

Ron just looked at her confused. "Doing what?"

"This! Helping me, keeping me warm."

Ron just looked at her like she was crazy. "Because you were cold. Am I missing something here?"

Bonnie just groaned, turning to look at him full on, their faces scant inches apart. "But don't you hate me?"

Ron just grinned. "I don't hate you."

Now it was Bonnie who looked confused. "But I've been nothing but mean to you. I call you a loser, I make fun of you, I tried to break you and Kim up… you can't tell me you don't hate me."

Ron just shrugged. "I don't. Why, do you want me to hate you?"

Bonnie seemed taken aback by the question. "No… I mean… yes, you should. I'd hate me."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't hate you then, or you'd be pretty cold right now."

The pair were silent for a time, as Bonnie tucked her head back down against Ron. He just looked down at the top of her head. "Bonnie… do you hate me?"

She was silent, and Ron wondered if she had gone back to sleep, until he heard a quiet little whisper. "No… I don't."

"Do you hate Kim?"

He felt her tighten against him, tensing up. "Yes… no… I don't know."

"Then why…"

"Because she just gets everything handed to her, that's why! She's little miss perfect. Grades come to her easily, she's always asked to head everything before I am, everyone loves her. Meanwhile, I have to work twice as hard just to come in second. She can even get away with dating you and still win, it's not fair!"

Ron could feel her shaking against him slightly, and knew she had to be crying, but he didn't want to draw attention to it. "It doesn't exactly come to Kim that easy you know."

"Sure it does, just look at the talent show. Twelve years of ballet, training constantly, and what do I have to show for it? Third place! Meanwhile, Kim can't sing a high note if her life depended on it. Two days later, suddenly she can, and beats me. And when my sisters found out about that…"

"Why do you even care what they think? Why do you care what anyone thinks?"

"Because… because… I mean…"

"Why don't you want to do what you want? Why don't you try to make yourself happy instead of trying to make everyone else happy?"

"I… I… can we just drop this?"

Ron felt her press in, holding him tight as she sobbed quietly. "Sure, no problem." He laid his head on hers, holding her close as the night moved on.

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Ron awoke from his dozing as the lights suddenly came back on, blinding him momentarily. He rubbed his eyes, and felt Bonnie shifting against him. When she saw that the lights were on, she bolted to her feet as quickly as she could, pulling Ron up with her as she forgot her arm was still in one of the coat sleeves. Ron fell back to the floor, off-balance, and Bonnie came tumbling after him, landing on top of him in a mishmash of limbs.

As Bonnie struggled to get free, Ron just grinned. "I wonder what Kim would think if he saw us rolling around on the floor together?"

Bonnie whirled on him quickly, her eyes wide. "You will NOT tell anyone about what happened tonight, have you got me?"

Ron raised his hands defensively, as Bonnie pulled herself free of his coat. "I won't tell a soul."

"You better not!" Bonnie rushed over to the ATM, and breathed a sigh of relief as her card and the cash she had withdrawn popped out of the machine. "Oh, am I so glad to see this."

Ron struggled back into his coat, noting it seemed just a bit larger from having been stretched for the last couple hours. "Got everything all right?"

Bonnie tucked everything away, smiling. "Not that it matters, the mall's closed by now, but at least I don't have to worry about it."

"Good, then maybe it will work for me." Ron dodged past her quickly, and within seconds had everything he needed. "Guess I should be heading home. Later Bonnie!"

He opened the door, catching a face full of snow as the blizzard continued to rage outside. He started to push hard on the door, to open it enough to slip out past the snow that was piling up, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ron… do you… you want me to drive you home?"

Ron turned back and grinned. "Sure, thanks. I really didn't want to have to walk home in this."

Together, the two of them pushed open the door, and made the mad dash to her car. It took a few moments to unbury it, but soon they were off, carefully making their way out from downtown. They rode in silence, until Bonnie pulled up in front of Ron's house.

"Thanks for the lift, catch you later!"

Ron opened the door, stepping out into the snow.

"Ron."

Ron ducked his head back down, looking over at Bonnie.

"I… I just wanted to say… thanks, for everything you know… and keeping quiet."

Ron smiled warmly. "What are friends for? Just… remember what we talked about, okay?"

Ron shut the door quickly, before she could respond, and headed in quickly out of the snow. Bonnie could only stare after him, shocked at what he had said. It took a moment before she realized he was already out of sight, and then she pulled out, carefully making her way home.

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Bonnie sat among the wrappers of the presents she had opened already. It was the same assortment of gifts as always. Clothing that she would never wear from her parents, gag gifts from her sisters. Connie had got her a dieting book while Lonnie had gotten her a t-shirt that said 'third place isn't that bad'. Her own gifts to everyone else had been tossed to the side, just as every Christmas, the watch she had gotten her father trumped by the gifts her sisters had gotten him. It was like that every Christmas, in the bidding war for attention, and yet again, Bonnie was on the outside. She didn't even know why she tried anymore.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Bonnie quickly rose to answer it, more than happy to get away from her parents fawning over her sisters. She was surprised to see a deliveryman standing there, holding a fairly large package.

"Is there a Bonnie Rockwaller here?"

"I'm Bonnie."

"Sign here."

He handed her a pad, and she quickly signed. He handed her the package. "Thanks."

The deliveryman just nodded, mumbling under his breath as he left. "Why do I always get stuck working Christmas?"

Bonnie walked back into the living room, package in hand, and found she was the center of attention.

"Who was that dear?"

"A deliveryman, dropping this off for me?" She sat back down on the couch, eyeing the box.

Her mother smiled, as she sipped her tea. "Well, are you going to open it or just look at it? And who is it from? Does my little BonBon have a gentleman caller? You've been so lonely since your boyfriend Brick went to college."

"Only gentlemen calling on Bonnie are from the dog pound."

Bonnie glared at her sisters, as they laughed at their joke, but she opened the box anyways. Inside was a light blue, polar fleece sweater, incredibly soft and warm to the touch, but she noticed it was thin enough to hide under her jacket without making it look bulky.

Lonnie just sneered. "That is ugly, who would send you such an awful thing?"

Bonnie noticed a card as she lifted the sweater out, opening it.

_Figured you could use something to keep you warm with no one the wiser. Should make things easier next time something like that happens._

Bonnie smiled, fighting back the small tear that threatened to come free. "A friend."

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Author's Notes – Hope everyone enjoyed this little tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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